Sony Music Group has sent a letter to more than 700 tech companies and music streaming services warning them not to use its music to train AI without explicit permission. The letter, obtained by TechCrunch, says Sony Music has “reason to believe” that the recipients of the letter “may have already misused” the content.
Sony Music recognizes the “huge potential” of AI, but says the “misuse of SMG content in the training, development and commercialization of AI systems” requires the company and its artists to maintain control and “appropriate compensation.” He said it would be stolen.
The company's portfolio of artists includes many notable artists, including Harry Styles, Beyoncé, Adele, and Celine Dion.
Sony Music seeks to protect its intellectual property, including audio and audiovisual recordings, cover artwork, metadata, lyrics, and more. The company did not say which 700 companies it would send letters to.
“We support artists and songwriters as they take the lead in embracing new technology to support their art,” Sony Music said in a statement. “Advances in technology have frequently changed the direction of creative industries, and AI will likely continue that long-standing trend. We need to make sure we are respected.”
The letter explains which Sony Music songs were used to train the AI system, how the songs were accessed, how many copies were made, whether any copies still exist, and why they were copied in the first place. We are requesting details from the recipient, such as whether there was any.
Sony Music gave recipients of the letter a deadline to respond and said it will enforce its copyrights “to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law in all jurisdictions.”
The move comes as streaming services like Spotify are flooded with AI-generated music, and the rise of generated AI has made copyright infringement a serious issue. Even artists are dabbling in AI, as Drake came under fire for deepfaking the late rapper Tupac earlier this month.
Last month, California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff has introduced a new bill in the US House of Representatives that, if passed, would require AI companies to disclose the copyrighted music they use to train their AI.
In March, Tennessee became the first U.S. state to protect artists from AI after Governor Bill Lee signed the Portrait Audio and Image Security Act (ELVIS).
